


Way Down We Go

by ALCzysz17



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Eventual Smut, F/M, Female Friendship, Fluff, POV Darcy Lewis, Possible Graphic Violence (will change warnings if so), Romance, Time Travel, somewhat slow burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-09
Updated: 2017-08-06
Packaged: 2018-11-30 01:24:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11453094
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ALCzysz17/pseuds/ALCzysz17
Summary: Darcy Lewis’ life was a line of bad jokes strung together flimsily by the cruel hand of fate. There were good points like the internship with Doctor Jane Foster and meeting Thor but then there were bad points like being attacked by association and shield high-jacking her credits so she’d never get those six credits to complete her degree. Even so Darcy wouldn’t change anything she had done thus far because it made her who she was today. Still there were many times she regretted not just taking a boring science class over summer semester.Point in blank her boss/friend bringing up a massive black hole that sucked her up because she had to be a damn hero and push Jane out of the way thus bringing her through space and time back to nineteen forty-two and in her current predicament.Current predicament: Agent Peggy Carter’s bitch.---------------Darcy gets sent to the past and encounters Agent Peggy Carter. Will Darcy mess up the timeline, creating rifts or paradoxes? Or was this all meant to be? Only time will tell...





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I had this idea for a while after reading a few awesome time-travel stories with Darcy. I always thought what would happen if Darcy came across Peggy instead of the usual Steve and Bucky? Well this is my answer! I wanted to wait on posting this till I was actually ya know finished with the story but I couldn't resist posting, darn my impulses. 
> 
> I hope y'all enjoy! ^_~

 

Darcy slowly pulled her face off the asphalt, cringing in pain as she braced her hands on the ground on either side of her head. Her eyes drifted open, looking up to see the end of a barrel of a gun held steady by very feminine looking hands. Her eyes traveled down the gun and hands towards long arms, sturdy shoulders then perfectly curled and positioned chocolate brown shoulder-length hair framing an angled face with equally brown eyes. The woman’s eyes were glaring at her, bearing down on Darcy’s prone body waiting for her to make the wrong move and shoot.

“Who the hell are you?” the woman questioned heatedly, her lips quirking into a deeper frown. Her lips were coated in a deep red. Darcy felt her jaw unhinged but no words came out so she closed it and tried again, yet again she gaped like a fish out of water. “Answer me, or I’ll be liable to shoot you,” she warned, cocking the gun to prove the threat was all too real.

“D-Darcy Lewis,” Darcy finally managed to get her voice to croak out. Her body hurt from the landing and her clothes were starting to soak up the rainwater that coated the ground around them. Stupid London summers. The woman arched a brow then finally breathed out a sigh, “Well get up, can’t have you catching a cold.”

Darcy very slowly pushed herself to her knees, shivering as a breeze came through. If she remembered correctly it was almost nine o’clock at night, and even if it was summer it was still chilly at night, especially when your clothes are soaked through. Even slower she moved to stand, bracing herself against the brick wall towards her right, keeping an ever present eye on the woman and her gun, both still steady and in position. Darcy was too afraid to take a better assessment of the damage done to her from the fall; any sudden movement might bring upon her a steady woman’s trigger finger. Her fingers balled into fists against the brick wall, scraping against it as she waited for the dangerous woman to make a move.

“Where are you from?” the woman questioned next, moving slowly towards the other wall of the alleyway they were in; obviously trying to get a better angle on her in case she tried to bolt. Darcy gulped, closing her eyes for a brief moment before stating, “The U.S.”

“I know you’re American, I can tell from your accent and I’m asking where you came from out of that bright light,” the woman stated calmly, but with a thinly veiled tension in her voice.

Darcy couldn’t blame the woman for being warily of her; she did fall out of a portal. Probably right in front of her considering how much she seemed to know. Damn Jane and her inability to keep from messing with science she did not fully understand! If it wasn’t for her boss messing around, trying to bridge the gap in her own knowledge with alien technology to create the bridge to Asgard then maybe Darcy wouldn’t be in this terrible position of probably getting shot. There was no way she could convince the woman that she hadn’t seen what she clearly had.

Honesty is the best policy, or so she was consistently taught in grade school.

“Would you believe me if I told you I was accidently teleported here?” Darcy shrugged as she asked, her voice squeaking a little at the end. The woman eyed her over carefully, assessing her and the situation with a critical eye that Darcy only wished she had the ability to do. A good minute went by with neither movement from both of them; sweat was starting to form in the hairline of Darcy’s forehead as she waited for her fate.

Would she be taken to the hospital to get her head checked out? Or maybe an asylum? Do they even have those anymore?

“Normally I would consider you crazy and have you taken away, but…” the woman slowly pulled her arms up to her chest, pointing the barrel of the gun up in the darkening sky rather than at Darcy’s chest. “I saw you fly out of a swirl of bright light, so I’m just a bit inclined to believe you.” Darcy felt her shoulders drop then sag in relief, then sighed as she watched the other woman replace her gun in the holster hidden beneath her brownish coat.

Now that she didn’t have a gun in her general vicinity she could take the situation in better account and figure out what part of London she landed in. Maybe the woman had a cell phone she could use to call Jane considering hers was left on the desk before she got sucked into the portal. It was then Darcy finally looked about herself, the alleyway looked like any but the difference being that the trashcans were more cylinder and old-timey looking with no big, industrial rectangular trash bins like she normally would see. She looked back at the woman who was watching her curiously, just on the tip of speaking but clearly finding more interest in what Darcy was doing. Her clothes were rather formal looking, military actually.

The more she looked at the woman the more Darcy felt like something terribly wrong had happened. Her clothes were more a brownish green, definitely military but nothing like what she had seen any woman wear back home, or currently during her time in London with Jane. Usually they wore combat pants, not long skirts that reached their calves like the woman did. Hearing a honk, she turned her gaze down the alley to her right watching as a few cars drove by the alleyway’s mouth. One car in particular caught her eye as it stopped on the curb in front of the alley and caused dizziness to enter her vision.

It was an old Packard, burgundy red with a fold back top that was cream colored, standing out against the dark red. Unlike any she had seen from the sixties or seventies, this one had an olds-mobile look like something she would see in a history book about the late thirties. Only this one wasn’t a restoration, it was clearly new. Darcy felt her temple throb as she stared hard at the car.

This was not good…

“You look sick,” the woman announced, just a tinge of worry in her tone.

“I feel sick,” Darcy affirmed, her legs giving out from under her as she plopped to the wet asphalt again. Her hands only barely took some of her weight during the fall but she didn’t really notice as a million things raced through her mind all at once.

A hand touching lightly on her shoulder brought her back to see the woman kneeling by her side, a frown still creasing her brow and the corners of her lips.

“Darcy, answer me this,” the woman started, her name sounded so enduring coming from such a beautiful British accent, “Where did you come from?”

Darcy bit her lip, blinked rapidly then let her head drop back against the brick wall to stare up at the night sky, not a lick of light left over from the sun setting. “The future…”…

\--------------------------------------------

The shower wasn’t as relaxing as she had wanted it to be, only easing the strain in her shoulders and muscles and somewhat the pounding headache raging in her head. The scalding heat brought a more realistic surrealism to her, somewhat helping her realize that it was her reality that the portal transported her to the past yet she felt almost dreamlike. It was probably from the anxiety and fear swirling around in the pit of her stomach. The ache in her bones from the landing she took also helped to let her know this was for real. Darcy bit her lip as she sucked an intake of air, trying to keep her emotions together. Freaking out and breaking down was not the best idea right now for this situation, she needed to figure out how to get back home, to her own timeline but without Jane and her science speak she was hopelessly clueless.

It meant she was a stranded duck till Jane figured out where and when she was in time and fish her back out. To say her future (relative as it may seem) is pretty bleak at this point was an understatement. Sighing with only a few tears escaping her eyes she turned off the stream of water, knowing that there probably wasn’t a whole lot to go around in this time period.

Darcy nearly slipped in the bath as she got out of the porcelain death trap. The sink (also porcelain) helped her catch herself from falling once more face first. Her ribs in particular protested the sudden movement. Looking in the mirror while she toweled herself off, she evaluated her face, taking in the scratches and cuts from her graceless (her mother had said there was a reason her middle name wasn’t Grace) fall. There was definitely going to be a bruise on the left side of her chin and the cut on her forehead going into her right eyebrow ripped open from her rather aggressive scrubbing on her face.

Looking down at her body before covering it with a towel assured her that more bruises, cuts and scrapes were to accompany the ones on her face. All things considered she was extremely lucky she was still alive, from being sucked into a portal that Jane clearly did not know where it would lead, the fall that was only a few feet than it could have been, or having a gun shoved into her face upon coming to after the fall.

Darcy Lewis was one lucky bitch that was for sure.

She opened the door a crack to peer around it into the living-room. She could see the woman standing by an ancient phone (rotary), speaking quietly into it. She was trying to keep Darcy from hearing the conversation, she was sure of it. Brazenly as only Darcy could pull she practically whipped the door open, stepping out in just the small towel that had a hard time covering her breasts much less the rest of her.

“Yes, thank you. I’ll repay you as soon as I am able too. I’ll pick it up first thing in the morning, good-bye,” she ended the call then arched a brow at Darcy. “I left you some clothes over on the chair,” she indicated the chair over by the bathroom door with folded clothes, night clothes from the looks of it waiting for Darcy to take.

“Thank you,” Darcy mumbled reaching over to take the clothes then turned back to her. Her mouth opened to say something, anything but words seemed to fail her too quickly. She always was one to jump with both feet first and ask questions later. Darcy closed her mouth quickly and headed back into the bathroom to pull on the night clothes. It was just a single long nightgown, long sleeves and buttons leading all the way down to almost her ankles.

The flowery pattern left much to be desired but she couldn’t exactly complain. It took damn near forever to get it button up; she opted to leave the button by her neck loose. Towel drying her hair she stepped back out of the bathroom to see a brush practically shoved into her face this time instead of a gun. Darcy mumbled out another thanks trading the towel for it and back into the bathroom she went.

Another few minutes passed by before Darcy made another attempt into the living-room. There she saw the other woman dressed in a similar nightgown though hers was definitely more of the fashion of the time, v-necked with a bow and a pretty pink. It also looked to be satin compared to the cotton of the nightgown Darcy wore. Her make-up was still on but her hair was clearly brushed and looked fluffier than the well-groomed style she had it in when Darcy met her earlier.

“Can I ask you a question?” Darcy asked as she handed the brush back to her.

“You can ask, I won’t promise that I’ll answer though,” she stated back, taking the brush into her hand. Looking it over as she waited for the question.

“Why are you helping me Agent Carter?” Darcy almost whispered her inquiry, feeling her heart thump in her chest as she finally acknowledged the woman in front of her.

Margaret “Peggy” Carter, agent for the British, had a major role in World War II and helped create S.H.I.E.L.D in Darcy’s own time. As a side note she had also been a love interest of the first Captain America.

She barely heard the name when she finally gave it to Darcy in the alleyway then ordered her to stand and dragged her to her apartment where she was shoved into the shower (Darcy hated to admit she needed help figuring out how to work the water). Peggy seemed decided in what she was doing, no second-guessing in her gaze when she told Darcy her name and now as she kept her stern brown eyes on her she still did not waver in her decision.

“Do you know the saying, ‘keep your friends close and your enemies closer’?” Peggy quizzed, setting the brush on the counter in the kitchen.

“I’m not your enemy,” Darcy stated determinedly, crossing her arms under her chest as she bit the inside of her mouth.

“No,” Peggy acknowledged, coming around to analyze her stance, “but you are an unknown anomaly and I intend to keep you close. No need to let your knowledge fall into enemy hands.”

“How do you know I’m not the enemy?” Darcy couldn’t bite her damn tongue, what was the point in trying to prove she wasn’t the enemy if she just let her mouth get away from her? This was definitely not the time period to allow that, then again if she remembered her history right, a certain Agent Carter wasn’t like many of the women bred from this time-period.

“Gut feeling…plus you are very American,” Peggy pointed out, smirking as Darcy pouted, mumbling out, “that feels like an insult.”

“So what are you going to do with me?” she asked next, walking over to sit down on the couch. Some of the muscles protested the movement and she knew it was only going to get worse from here on out. Tomorrow she’d be lucky to sit up, much-less get up in the morning. Peggy came over to sit on the other side of the couch, her right leg automatically crossing over her left rather lady like as opposed of Darcy who slouched with her legs slightly ajar.

“Well Darcy, do you know how to get back?” Darcy shook her head, that was left up to Jane and her ability to find Darcy first and that sadly did not leave a good taste in her mouth. Jane Foster is a brilliant woman, but this was a bit beyond her abilities as such she didn’t have the confidence that she’d be leaving the nineteen-forties anytime soon. “In that case, I already have something set up. Since I am keeping you close I got an old acquaintance of mine to forge an I.D, birth certificate and social security number along with a fake work history.”

Darcy felt her jaw drop at how quick Peggy was at getting this started, she had no idea the woman was so intuitive, but then she probably shouldn’t have thought any better. There was a reason history remembered Peggy Carter among the other women who helped in the war effort, it was nineteen forty-two and the war had already been declared and started three years prier. The thought of World War II brought a quiver to her stomach that felt an awful lot like nausea.

“How good are you at bullshitting?” Darcy jumped at the question, looking at Peggy like she had lost her damn mind. A smirk graced her still red lips at the look then shrugged, “I need to convince my superior officer and others that you are my assistant. So I need to know how well you can lie,” she clarified.

“If my life depends on it then I think I’m pretty good at lying,” Darcy said with some confidence, she didn’t get as far as she had with Jane without lying through her teeth to various people and companies so they could use certain facilities and areas that were normally off-limits to everyone. “Yeah, I can bullshit with the best of them.”

Peggy revealed a more natural smile at that statement, her face looking a bit younger when she did. In all actuality Peggy probably wasn’t any older than Darcy was (ripe old age of twenty-seven). “Good, because your life does depend on it, I can only get you so far before you’ll have to depend on yourself.”

“So let me get this straight. The plan is for me to stick so close to you people might believe we’re Siamese-twins.” Peggy snorted, holding back a laugh but nodded. “And were going to lie to both the British and American government about who I am because clearly they won’t believe either of us and…and…wow this is getting kind of crazy,” Darcy mumbled, running a hand through her hair nervously.

“Darcy, I know what I saw and I can tell you aren’t lying. You came from the future, how much crazier can this get?” Peggy inquired quietly, arching a brow. Sighing deeply she nodded, really how much crazier can it get?

“I guess if you hadn’t witnessed what happened then you wouldn’t be so willing to help me right?”

“Right, but I did and so I am though don’t go thinking for a second I won’t benefit from this,” Peggy commented lightly. Darcy immediately shook her head then stared her dead in the eye.

“I can’t tell you anything about the future or anything about your future and our history of the war,” her words echoed almost loudly around them even though she had spoken in a normal tone. Peggy watched her carefully, before slowly nodding her acceptance though a smile blossomed on her lips.

“That doesn't necessarily mean you can't give me hints and clues…”

“I’m really starting to not like you…”…

\--------------------------------------------

Darcy Lewis’ life was a line of bad jokes strung together flimsily by the cruel hand of fate. There were good points like the internship with Doctor Jane Foster and meeting Thor but then there were bad points like being attacked by association and shield high-jacking her credits so she’d never get those six credits to complete her degree. Even so Darcy wouldn’t change anything she had done thus far because it made her who she was today. Still there were many times she regretted not just taking a boring science class over summer semester.

Point in blank her boss/friend bringing up a massive black hole that sucked her up because she had to be a damn hero and push Jane out of the way thus bringing her through space and time back to nineteen forty-two and in her current predicament.

Current predicament: Agent Peggy Carter’s bitch.

She hated the way the clothes felt on her skin, even more so with the way they looked. On Peggy they looked formal, appropriate while on her, Darcy felt she looked a bit obscene because of her wider hips and fuller chest. Peggy was definitely a curvy lady, but she put her curves to shame.

“Stop picking at yourself,” Peggy hissed as they waited outside the office of her Superior Officer, Mr. John Harris. His secretary eyed them over before going back to her typing. Darcy clasped her fidgety hands into her lap, sitting straighter and her legs clamped shut.

“I’m not comfortable,” Darcy mumbled back, resisting the urge to tug at her clothes more.

The morning after Peggy left while Darcy slept and returned to wake her with the forged things that she could use to get a job as Peggy’s assistant. She then spent the next two days learning about what she could and couldn’t say or do in this time period. It was hard to bite her tongue at the ridiculousness of it all, so much so she make snark comments here and there while she was taught. At the end Peggy begrudgingly agreed with Darcy’s assessment of this time period, but that was why she became an agent in the first place.

It was only Darcy’s third day of being in nineteen forty-two and already she was tired. Every moment she was expecting Jane to bring forth a portal to take her back home. It was tiring trying to not cause issues with her knowledge, but already she was fucking up the timeline with not only being here but also interacting so much with Agent Carter. It was only a matter of time before some type of paradox or rip in time happened because of this.

A vague and small part of her wondered if this was always meant to happen, if nothing bad would happen, if things went along like they were suppose to then maybe this was meant to be? There was also another part of her that feared she maybe/might be stuck in this time period for the rest of her natural life. A shiver raced down her back at the thought. That fear kept her awake the last two nights into the wee morning, staring at the ceiling and trying to not cry. Darcy was lucky Peggy’s couch was so damn comfortable to sleep on otherwise she would be feeling much worse for wear both mentally and physically.

“Agent Carter, Miss Lewis, Mr. Harris is ready for you,” the secretary announced perkily, smiling brightly at them as they got up and walked into the office behind her.

Darcy was expecting a lot of things but seeing a fat, balding man with a mustache that reminded her of her grandpa wasn’t one of them. He smiled at the both of them though there was a strain in his eyes, even a haunting look there like he had seen too much for his life time. PTSD, she assumed which can contribute to stress eating she noted.

“Agent Carter,” he greeted politely then focused his gaze on Darcy who stepped forward, hand raised for a hand shake. He raised an eyebrow at the gesture and for half a second she thought about dropping it but then he grasped her hand to shake. Darcy had to adjust her grip to match his, remembering from high school that a strong handshake showed how serious you were to be taken, or something like that. “Miss Lewis, a pleasure to meet you.”

“Likewise,” Darcy replied back, smiling politely and sitting down beside Peggy. Mr. Harris sat as well, looking over the paper work Peggy had given to his secretary who in-turn gave it to him. They couldn’t bullshit a lot about her background experience in the case that they tried to background check on her later, but taking a political science major did help in being diplomatic and knowing the in’s and out’s of politics and policy.

Peggy was pleasantly surprised to learn how knowledgeable Darcy was on the subject, she felt just a bit of glee to know she could surprise the other woman in a good way. Mr. Harris took a minute to review over the paper work then set it down to grace them with his full attention.

“So Miss Lewis, you think you are a good fit to accompany Agent Carter and assist in her day-to-day job,” though he was asking her a question it came off more like an evaluation, or statement.

Darcy nodded, “Yes, sir.”

“Say’s here you’ve worked at a bank back in New York along with a few minor part-time jobs and you earned an English degree at Barnard College,” he continued on, reiterating what was written on her resume. Darcy wanted to say she had a degree in political science like she had been going for but Peggy felt it drew too many red-flags for an American to want a job with the British service with that degree. No need to get arrested before they even began.

So English degree it was, a rather plain and expected degree for a woman of the time.

“Yes, sir,” Darcy said again. He seemed pleased with her politeness.

“Miss Lewis, I must ask what brings you to Great Britain for work? You seemed to have been doing well back in New York.” Here’s where Darcy was suppose to bullshit like the best of them.

“I have no family left in America, and I wanted a different scenery. I always admired the conviction of the British and at first I came here to visit and explore, but the more I stay, the more it feels like home to me. I met Agent Carter while looking for work and proved how valuable I can be.”

Mr. Harris nodded as he listened; he seemed to puff out his chest more then smiled a little more softly than he had from the start.

“It’s not very conventional to hire an American especially with only a travel-visa,” he stated sternly, folding his fingers together as he eyed her over. Darcy nodded solemnly then pushed back her shoulders like she had seen Peggy do the other day, jutting her chin out stubbornly and sat straighter.

“With the way things are heading sir, being unconventional at this point can be more an asset than a setback.” Mr. Harris watched her a moment then skimmed his eyes over to Peggy.

“Are you willing to vouch for her, Agent Carter?” he inquired.

“Yes, sir,” Peggy said calmly, leveling her gaze to his for a second or two. Darcy held her breath as she waited for the final verdict.

“I trust Agent Carter’s judgment, she’s been nothing short of perfect at her job and if she can vouch for you then you’re hired Miss Lewis.”

Darcy smiled brightly, hoping the relief in her eyes didn’t show as much as she felt it. They all stood up, Darcy reaching over to shake his hand again. He smiled more and shook his head then shook her hand.

They said their goodbye after Mr. Harris told them he’d have her paper work filed and everything set in a day or so. Darcy held her excitement in till they were out on the sidewalk, heading back to Peggy’s apartment. She squealed and sighed then jumped up and down much to the amusement of the other brunette.

“I can’t believe that worked,” Darcy admitted, finally coming down from her excitement.

“It only worked out because Mr. Harris trusts me, otherwise you probably wouldn’t have gotten the job,” Peggy stated seriously, stepping close to Darcy as they passed people on the crowded street.

“Still, I feel less anxious now.”

“Don’t relax so quickly, Darcy. You will still have to learn more about the system and then I will have you go through basic training,” Peggy listed off, quirking a brow at the frown on Darcy’s face.

“Basic training?” she asked, dodging a quick moving mother with two young children on each hand.

“Yes, basic training. You’ll need to learn how to handle a gun.”

“Lovely,” Darcy mumbled. She was not looking forward to that. If she was being honest she was sort of afraid of handling a gun, there was a lot of pressure there and it was why she got a taser than a license for a gun.

“You’ll get the hang of everything in due time,” Peggy assured her with a pat on her shoulder.

“And if I don’t?” Darcy asked as she stopped walking forcing Peggy to stop. She looked over her shoulder at her, “You don’t have a choice.”

“Well then, when you put it that way,” she mumbled back, walking faster to keep in line with Peggy.

Darcy wasn’t sure what her future held now, she wasn’t even sure she had much a future at all if she was somehow inadvertently twisting and changing the future by being in the past. All she did know was that for the next few months (possibly years) her life was going to be very interesting and more than potentially life-threatening, but…

She looked over at Peggy as she led them both confidently back to the apartment, her head held high, face beautiful yet stern with her shoulders pulled back like a soldier. At least she knew she had someone who had her back even if it was because she didn’t totally trust Darcy, it was better than facing this time period alone. She didn’t even want to think about what she would be doing if she hadn’t fallen in front of Peggy Carter.

Yep, her life really was a line of bad jokes…

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be minor OC's to fit along the story and I may take some liberties with places, events and general information. I did look up a few things like the car, Darcy's women's college (its a real college in NY) and I'm not sure travel visas existed back then but its minor I think. This is a slow burn type story, we won't even see Steve for at least three more chapters?? My biggest fear is that I am not able to write a convincing Peggy Carter, so please let me know how well I am doing. I absolutely adore her in the movie (fave character aside from Steve and Bucky, including Tommy Lee Jones' character Chester Philips) and I want to be sure I am writing her well. With Darcy it's pretty easy since she's more open to interpretation aside from the quirks we get from both Thor movies.
> 
> FYI: I fixed my history error. It was minor at best anyway, but it bugged me and I am so happy so many people are better at history than I am and provided information for me. Y'all are the best, thanks!!!
> 
> Anywho I hope y'all enjoyed and let me know whatcha think! ^_~


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope y'all like this chapter, I had such a rough time getting it out and I'm sorry about the wait. Things are going to progress some more, I'm hoping by chapter five we'll get to meet Steve!! *_*

 

Darcy wasn’t sure what was gonna come up first, cursing or vomiting. Her legs burned from her calves to her thighs, even her arms burned from the constant movement of running. She knew she was slowing down but she just couldn’t get her legs to move faster, she was losing momentum and the will power to continue on. Her heart was beating so rapidly she thought any minute now it would burst from her chest like an Alien and scurry away into some dark corner, never to be seen again. Darcy wouldn’t mind doing that right now actually.

“Come now, Darcy haven’t you worked a day in your life?” Peggy called out from where she stood at a fixed point on the track. Her hair perfectly curled and makeup smoothly put on while Darcy was sweating bullets, heaving like she was over three thousand pounds and her hair was sweat-drenched and hanging limply in a ponytail.

“Normally…I’m not…running around…in…a circle!” Darcy yelled back, forcing her feet to keep pounding the ground and try to make an effort to finish her third lap. The first had gone fine, easy-peasy but the second proved to be harder once she lost her wind and then the third so far has been exhausting and excruciating.

“This is what you signed up for,” Peggy reminded her as she neared the other woman. Hearing that caused her to completely stop just a few feet shy of finishing her third lap, her hands dropped to her knees as she gasped greedily for oxygen into her deflating lungs. She looked up to see Peggy frowning at her disappointedly, arms crossed over her chest and eyebrow arched, Darcy just barely kept from snaring at her as she glared in her exhaustion.

“I didn’t…sign up for this! You said…I didn’t…have a choice!” Peggy looked around them a moment to see that they were practically alone at the track on one of the many bases in England. She walked the few feet between them to come to a standstill in front of Darcy who was still panting like a dog; she made a lovely sight.

“And you don’t. Sometimes we have to do things we don’t want to do, if you want to make it in this world you’ll learn that lesson as quickly as possible. Now take a moment to catch your breath and do one more lap around,” Peggy waved over to the rest of the track, “and please try and finish it in less than five minutes.”

Once her breath was mostly caught she started back up again without argument. The last three weeks since she arrived in this time had been nothing but reading, learning and training. Darcy hadn’t always been in the best of shape, running around with Jane didn’t help much in the healthy eating department but she was never a heavy set person. Sure she had wider hips and thighs, a little pooch on her belly from many consumptions of pop-tarts and other sugary foods and her chest made it harder to be a runner in general yet she wouldn’t say she was unfit per-say. In Peggy’s view though she was and Darcy couldn’t blame the woman either, she was in amazing shape in comparison and she had worked hard to be that way. Still understanding why she had to do this and doing it were two very different things.

They were staying on the army base for a few months because Peggy was stationed there for the time being, it also helped that she wanted Darcy to have basic army training anyway so two birds, one stone deal. Darcy hated working with the men, they tended to leer at her (and Peggy but she was better at ignoring it) and when they thought she didn’t hear them they’d make lewd comments about her body too. Darcy had never really been ashamed of her body; hitting puberty was probably when she felt the most uncomfortable and that was because the puberty stick beat the shit out of her, what girl at twelve wanted to have a set of almost double D’s? The answer is none, at least not at that age. So growing up was made that much harder.

Darcy learned quickly that covering up was the best thing she could do for the time being, even now she’d cover up her assets though, not from shame but because she didn’t like flaunting her body towards others (years of hiding herself because of bullying didn’t help either). Working around these men only made her wish she could have her big sweaters and scarves to cover up with. The summer air was muggy and hot which made wearing anything long sleeved horrible and unthinkable, it made her feel for the many army-men who had to endure it while wearing heavy materials on their back and long sleeved jackets.

Rounding the track Darcy felt a cramp build up in her side, lovely.

Three weeks of being in the past and not one bit of hope that Jane would find her. Each day left her with the reality that maybe she was stuck for good; maybe this would be her life. Darcy tried to remember if she ever read anything particular about Peggy Carter indicating that she had a loyal assistant that Darcy, herself was filling in but nothing came to mind. When she was in middle school she had done a paper on Peggy Carter for history class, but she couldn’t remember anything so specific about the woman and the people around her. That didn’t body well in her opinion. If she was a part of history and Darcy hadn’t found herself in anything relating to Peggy that sorta meant one thing…she dies before anything historical happens.

Or I go back home, Darcy thought briefly to push away the anxiety of thinking she might die in this time period.

When she finished her final lap she practically dropped to her hands and knees upon stopping. Peggy sighed deeply at Darcy’s display as she walked over to her. “Just under five minutes, well done,” Peggy commented lightly.

“Yippee,” Darcy mumbled back, feeling ready to belly flop to the asphalt in her exhaustion. She looked up when she felt a hand on her arm; Peggy looked down at her with a slightly worried expression though it was kind of hard to tell around the stern set of her lips.

“Let’s get you showered.” Darcy nodded, using the support Peggy gave to get back to her feet. She noticed then that there was a troop of British soldiers coming towards the track, all geared up for training.

She bowed her head, keeping her eyes on the way ahead of her but there was no ignoring the stares they received from them. She glanced over to Peggy to see how she was taking it but there wasn’t any indication that the other woman had even noticed the stares. Her shoulders were pulled back, head held high and a serious flat line across her lips, if anyone so much as crossed her wrong they’d flinch away from that look alone. Darcy pulled her own shoulders back, trying her best to imitate the other woman as they headed out towards the barracks. They were given a private one for their stay.

“How do you do it?” Darcy asked once they were out of ear-shot of the men. Peggy arched a brow as she glanced back at her.

“Do what?” Darcy waved a hand behind her, gesturing at the troops they left at the track, “Remain unaffected by them, by the stares and the comments.”

Peggy stopped, turning fully around to make eye contact with Darcy. The unwavering stare was sort of hard to take, but somehow she was able to keep their gazes connected.

“Darcy, I’ve been working in an industry dominated by men for years. I’ve started at the bottom, being looked over and by-passed by men who were not even close to being good enough as I was. I’ve been discriminated against, talked down to, and told I would not amount to anything without a man by my side, and…for a time I started to believe that,” Peggy looked down for a moment, reliving some of her worse days Darcy assumed. After a moment clarity came into her eyes and she looked up. “But,” Peggy held up one finger, smirk coming to her lips, “Very big but, I came to realize that they were all intimidated by me, they feared my determination, my audacity to continue on. Make no mistake MI6 is not a cake walk to go through and make it to agent status as I have done, very few women have gotten this far. Mr. Harris and I once had a rather strained relationship, it took a lot of my own hard work to convince him that I was just as good an agent as any male agent he had working for him.”

“Doesn’t it still bother you though?” Darcy asked, rubbing her arm absentmindedly. She felt she shouldn’t be as amazed by what Peggy had gone through as she was, she knew history treated women horribly, but knowing and seeing were so different an experience. Sure she knew what it was like to be overlooked and treated like nothing special that was par for the course in her daily life when your boss was someone as brilliant as Jane Foster. It didn’t bother her though; Darcy enjoyed just being Darcy Lewis, assistant to astrophysicist Jane Foster.

Peggy sighed deeply, the strength she always presented slowly lifted from her face, leaving behind someone who looked tired and worn. Darcy hadn’t realized how much this woman hid from the world, how much she had too. “Of course I am, it will always bother me but I won’t let it take over my life. Sometimes you have no choice but to be strong because strength is all you really have.”

With that said Peggy turned away, leading them back to their private barrack. Darcy spent more time in the shower than she probably should have but her thoughts wouldn’t leave her be. She couldn’t get the drained expression on Peggy’s face from her mind and the words she said to her. More and more she was coming to hate this time period, the discrimination and disrespect of not only women, but people of color and Jews. A shiver ran down her back, she was half Jewish from her mother’s side. Darcy remembered the stories her mother would tell her about what her grandparents had gone through, the torment and trauma; physical, mental and emotional. She was never very close to her grandmother, she was a very standoffish woman, keeping to herself and seemingly looking down upon everyone around her.

She learned from her mother that her grandma didn’t know how to be a warm person anymore; she lost that part of herself when she was eight, back at one of the German concentration camps. It always amazed Darcy how her mother could be so welcoming, warm and loving while her grandma was standoffish, cold and withdrawn from everyone. She never got to know her grandpa because he passed when she was very young, but she was pretty sure her mother came out the way she did because of him.

Darcy stood in freezing water for a few minutes before finally forcing herself out. Her thoughts were still muddled but at least her mind was a bit more clear than earlier. She dressed slowly, putting on the collared white shirt, long pencil skirt along with the one inch heels that went with the look. Peggy showed her how to pin her hair back, she had so much of it and it was curly and thick which made it so much harder to handle. On more than one occasion Peggy had commented about getting it cut shorter but Darcy refused. It was already harder to handle long, it’d be worse shorter. Once she had gotten everything set, placing her glasses up the bridge of her nose Darcy assessed her appearance in the mirror. She looked so weird, gone were her torn jeans, heavy sweaters and curly hair hidden underneath beanies. It was a weird good, she decided.

Peggy wasn’t around when she left the bathroom, looking around the rather small room that housed three different bunk-beds. There were only going to be here for a few weeks from what she had gathered, just enough to get her a little less fatigued from running and then they’d be off doing whatever Peggy was required to do. Darcy literally did for her what she did for Jane, got her what she needed, typed things up for her (typewriters were both so cool and so annoying) and essentially whatever miscellaneous work deemed worthy for her to do. It was actually rather ironic that she was once more in the position of assisting with something she didn’t know much of anything about.

“Cruel, cruel irony…” Darcy mumbled, putting away her towel before sitting down on the bottom bunk that she had been sleeping in the past two weeks. She fiddled with a string sticking out from the blanket as she dazed off in her thoughts some more.

It took her a moment to realize someone had entered the barracks and was talking to her.

“Miss Lewis?” Darcy blinked rapidly, jumping a little as she turned her head to the entrance to the barrack. There stood a woman, probably about her age with blonde hair pulled back like Darcy’s and holding a folder in her arms. She smiled as they connected eyes. “Agent Carter has requested your presence at Agent Taylor’s office,” she said softly, forcing Darcy to strain her hearing to understand her.

She gave her a nod. “I’ll be there in a moment, thank you.”

The other woman gave a stiff nod and left abruptly. Darcy sighed deeply, leaning her head back against the bar of the top bunk as she closed her eyes. She took a minute or so to collect herself, to push away all her confusing thoughts and anxiety. Peggy was right (she seemed to always be); sometimes there really was no choice but to be strong, no matter what. She had no choice in this circumstance that is time-travel. She needed to get her head out of the dirt and just do what she could do, and that was assist an amazing woman well-known in history. Peggy wasn’t known for weakness and Darcy wasn’t going to be one, nor was she going to let her own weakness get to her. She could do this.

Smiling briefly, she breathed out then stood. No time to sit and mope, there was work to be done. Plus Peggy would be sorely pissed with her if she didn’t get her butt moving.

Agent Taylor’s office isn’t far from their barrack; he was one person Peggy reported to while they were on base. He was the connection that got them in there so quickly when normally there was more hoopla and rings to go through with transferring like Peggy had done. Guess it was good to intimidate and impress higher ups, or maybe it was just the fact that Agent Carter was just that kick-ass?

Darcy assumed it was a bit of both.

Just as she was approaching the offices that were all set up in one large building on base she heard it; the catcalls. They weren’t even trying to be discreet about it like most of the soldiers she had come across. They were loud and very obnoxious too. Darcy clenched her teeth together, locking her jaw into place. She wanted nothing more than to turn around and flip those assholes off, but it wasn’t polite of her or appropriate conduct of a lady.

Screw lady, when have I ever been one, she thought in agitation as she continued to walk and ignore them. She couldn’t do what she wanted though because she needed to think about the consequences and also she didn’t want anything to happen to Peggy because of her. The woman was really putting her neck out there for her and the last thing she needed to do was seem ungrateful by being herself. It was the wrong time-period to be herself in, sadly.

“Hey, Sweetheart,” a deep male voice said in front of her, causing Darcy to stop in her tracks as she took the soldier in. He was tall, dark brown hair with brown eyes and wearing the standard British military garb. His smile left much to be desired and she wished for nothing more than for him to shove off.

Ignoring her greeting, she moved to go around him but the soldier stepped back in front of her, forcing her to step back so she wasn’t nose into his chest. A frown started to crease the edges of her lips, her teeth silently gnashing together as she bit back a loud, ‘back off’, or curse. “I greeted you, it’s rude not to greet back,” he commented lazily, crossing his arms over his chest as a smirk developed on his lips.

“Hi,” Darcy bit out slowly. Her hands balled up into fists as she narrowed her eyes at him. He seemed only more intrigued by her reaction as he said, “Ah so the little mouse can speak, and you’re American too. No wonder you were rude.” His statement ate at her, making a small ball of rage gather inside her chest. She did not like being called a ‘little mouse’ and though she couldn’t speak for all Americans on being rude, she wasn’t the one being rude in the first place.

“Look, I’m needed elsewhere so if you’ll excuse me,” she stated sternly, hoping her tone matched the one she heard plenty of times from Peggy. She moved to the left to sidestep the soldier once more and like an endless loop of hell he also stepped back in front of her.

“What’s the rush little mouse? We want to hear you squeak.” A chill ran down her spine as she heard some footsteps come up behind her. Were these men so depraved that they’d gang up on her? Darcy was afraid the answer was yes.

“Goodbye,” she mumbled, trying again to get around the first asshole. The feeling of his hand grabbing her arm made the ball of rage burn hotter in her gut as he yanked her back, forcing her to collide into the chest of one of the soldiers that came up behind her. His hands settled on her shoulders but she slapped them away, sending a glare at the two men behind her then directing it over to ‘Jameson’ his military jacket stated as his last name.

“Hey, you should show respect to a man who wants to talk with you,” Jameson remarked cockily, arching a brow at her like he was waiting for her to thank him for his attention. Fuck that shit, her mouth opened before she could control what was said, “And I will, when I see a real man in front of me.”

She should have seen the slap coming, honestly. The back of his hand cuffed her across her cheek, catching her bottom lip on his knuckles and her nose as the force of the slap made her loose her footing and fall to her hands and knees. Her face throbbed painfully; she wished she had her taser. She really wished she had her taser. She knew her lip was probably bleeding; her teeth had connected it from the inside harshly. Darcy wouldn’t be surprised if she had a split lip. She peered up at Jameson who was smirking down at her as the other men commented about the strike, like it was something to truly praise about.

You know, she was at the perfect level to punch this jerk in his balls, she mused briefly.

“You’ll show me some bloody respect you little bitch! How about you spit shine my boots while you’re down there,” he commented amusedly, swiping the tip of his tongue along his bottom lip. Darcy felt a tremor go through her body as she full-on glared at him, mumbling darkly, “I’ll show you spit.”

Just as she was about to punch him where the sun don’t shine he turned around when someone tapped on his shoulder then the loud cracking of his nose sounded out loudly around them. Jameson went down hard landing on his back beside Darcy who stood up quickly as she stared in awe.

Peggy glared at the downed man, her hand still in a fist from her punch. Darcy felt like her jaw became unhinged by what she had just witnessed, Peggy Carter took out a man much taller than her and definitely close to a hundred pounds more than her like he was nothing, like he was pesky fly getting in her way. She glanced over at the soldier to see him holding his nose, blood dripping down from it over his lips and chin, it was a good look for him, she thought darkly.

“The only person here who needs to learn some bloody respect is you! Striking a woman who is not interested is not a showing of a real man, and he does not deserve respect of any kind, much less attention. You should be ashamed and disgusted with your actions, all of you!” Peggy directed her glare at the two men standing behind their buddy, Darcy quickly moved by Peggy’s side to see the shock on all three of their faces. She whipped her head around when she heard a door open and slam, revealing Agent Taylor.

He stood just as tall as Jameson, possibly an inch or two taller with buzzed blonde hair. He carried himself like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders, always standing at attention with a severe and steely expression on his lips almost at all times. It was behind closed doors that he reveals a bright and brilliant smile, even flirting with Peggy though she didn’t encourage it by her own flirting. The man was clearly taken by Agent Carter and he respected her, it was nice to see in comparison of what she was seeing from the soldiers on base. He marched over to stand slightly in front of Peggy, assuming control of the situation from her.

“Stand soldier,” he demanded coldly, staring down hard at Jameson who brought himself to his full height. He at least had the sense of self-preservation to stand straight, chin jutted out and eyes staring straight forward and a blank face; the look of an obedient soldier. He even ignored the fact that his face was bloody and still dripping blood slowly from his nose. “Is this what you are taught to do soldier? Berate and belittle women for your own amusement?”

“No, sir,” Jameson barked back. If she looked at him hard enough she could just make out some sweat forming at the ridge of his hair line.

“Then tell me, soldier, why did you strike Miss Lewis?” Agent Taylor bore his glare into the other man’s eyes, looking at no one but him. The flinch in Jameson’s eyes felt good to Darcy, it was nice to see an asshole get put into his place.

“Sir…I…” he was at a loss for words, glancing over to Darcy as he tried to come up with an excuse for his misconduct. “No, don’t look at Miss Lewis, you look at me. Tell me why,” Agent Taylor demanded again, taking a step closer to force the soldier to look up a little to keep eye contact. It was quite the pissing contest and by pissing contest, Darcy meant the fact that Jameson looked ready to piss himself.

“Nothing,” Agent Taylor remarked, nodding briefly like it was exactly what he thought it was. “Right, march back to your barracks, all of you. You will be dealt with soon.”

The three men barked out, “Sir, yes sir,” then turned around and marched their way back to their assigned barracks without a glance back at them.

Darcy felt the tension in her muscles release, her shoulders sagged and she let out a breath to force the ball of rage to leave her chest and body. Peggy turned to Darcy, gripping her chin to take a look at her face.

“You’ll bruise on the cheek, your lip is split and your nose a little red, but otherwise I think you’ll live.” The little tacked on joke at the end brought a smile to Darcy’s lips though she winced at the stretch of her split lip. Agent Taylor peered over to her to see the damage for himself, he did not look happy but his eyes did soften towards her.

“I am so sorry for your treatment, Miss Lewis, trust that this will not go without punishment,” he apologized, his jaw ticked in anger. Darcy soft him a smaller smile to not hurt her lip more, “Thank you, Agent Taylor,” she managed to mumble, feeling extremely grateful for both Peggy and him. She wasn’t sure what would have happened if she was left alone with those men much longer. On the inside she hoped she would have kicked their asses, but in all honesty, she probably would have been even worse off than she was now.

Agent Taylor nodded then waved them off, saying he had some punishment to deal out and they could continue their meeting tomorrow as the day was getting later into the night.

Once they were alone Darcy directed starry eyes at Peggy who looked taken back by her expression.

“You were amazing! I can’t believe you punched him hard enough to knock him to the ground! How do you learn to punch like that and can you teach me!” Darcy exclaimed excitedly, ignoring her throbbing lip as she smiled at Peggy brightly.

Peggy shook her head, amusement dancing in her eyes as she regarded her. They slowly walked back to their barrack.

“I might teach you,” she said teasingly, baiting Darcy. She knew she was being baited but she didn’t care, she would love nothing more than to be able to punch a man bigger than her to the ground (more specifically Jameson). “On one condition,” Peggy continued, smirk stretching her red lips as Darcy immediately frowned.

“There’s always a condition with you,” she noted, crossing her arms over her chest. Peggy said nothing as she opened the door, allowing Darcy to enter first. She turned around to observe the other woman, waiting for the condition she’d have to fulfill.

“You have to get your mile run under five minutes,” she finally announced, gaining a groan as her answer back.

“Three laps in five minutes, are you trying to make me hack up a lung?” Darcy asked though really she was whining. She hated running, so very, very much. Peggy shrugged nonchalantly, tossing a look over her shoulder as she walked over to the bathroom.

“Five minute mile, Lewis,” she repeated before shutting the door.

Darcy stuck her tongue out then walked over to lie down on her bed. She suddenly felt exhausted, more so than from her laps earlier. The afternoon was far more eventful than she thought it would be, more than she cared for it to be as well. Her mind wouldn’t stop going over what had happened analyzing it like Jane had told her to do though that usually was required for when they were observing stars than getting harassed. There were so many different ways she could have handled that though she did believe she handled it the most mature way she still wished she could have knocked that ugly smirk off the soldier’s face. Be the one to bring him down a peg or two, like Peggy had. She braced her head underneath her hands with her elbows speared out as Darcy lightly traced around the tender area of her split lip, running the tip of her tongue over it and tasting back tangy blood.

Great, she was gonna be sporting quite the fat lip for the next two days.

“How would you have handled that situation back in your time?”

The question startled her; Darcy turned her head to see Peggy sitting on the bunk beside her. She was leaning forward over her knees because of the top bunk as she waited for an answer to her question. Darcy looked back up to the top bunk and thought about it.

“Well…I’d have told him he was scum and when he grabbed me I would have used my taser on him,” Darcy stated, turning her head back to Peggy who held a perplexed look.

“What’s a taser?” she asked next causing Darcy to flinch. She was pretty sure the taser wasn’t coming out for another forty years or so. She thought about it quickly and figured there was no real harm in mentioning what it was, it wasn’t something that would completely alter time and space, right?

One half of her was screaming to shut her damn mouth while the other shrugged with indecision. She went to bite her lip and winced in pain.

“If it’s something you can’t tell me that’s alright,” Peggy said after another minute of silence. Darcy sighed then shrugged.

“It’s just like a gun, but it shoots these little electric prongs that send electricity into a person’s body for a second or so. It knocks them on their butt and allows you time to get away.” Peggy seemed extremely intrigued by this information, her eyes sparkled a little as she thought about what a taser looked like.

“It sounds…interesting,” she commented, “it is a form of defense, do you need proper training?”

Darcy laughed lightly, shaking her head as she directed a smile at Peggy. “Yes, it’s used to defend against people and no, you don’t really need training…or, well I never got any.”

“Why did you need it, Darcy?” Peggy inquired softly, eyeing her like she thought she was walking on crumbling ice.

“It’s a dangerous world out there, especially when you’re a woman,” she said thoughtfully, propping her left leg over her bent right leg.

Peggy watched her for a moment then solemnly nodded, “Indeed…”…

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Peggy is so badass!! I know it probably seemed like Darcy was being a wimp, not fighting but she doesn't want to do anything to make her situation worse, that includes not putting assholes in their place. She'll get better though, underneath Peggy's tutelage! I want them to grow closer, but not quickly almost like a slow-burn friendship, hahaha.
> 
> Fingers crossed I get the next chapter out sooner!! Let me know whatcha think and thank y'all so much for reading my stuff, it really makes me happy and warms my soul. ^_~


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